Source: CNKI
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, many preparations were in full swing under the leadership of the central authorities, the most important of which was the evaluation of the national flag and national emblem.
It was only three months before the founding ceremony that the mainland officially solicited the design of the national flag from the whole society, so it can be seen that the time is very urgent, but fortunately, the people's work efficiency is very high, and the plan for the five-star red flag was quickly determined.
But in the 60s of the last century, there was an incident, someone proposed to change the five-star red flag to a three-star red flag, and the national anthem should also be revised, why is this?
1. Establishment of the national flag
In April 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered Nanjing. With the fall of the blue sky and white sun flag, it represents that the land of China is about to usher in a new leader.
But at this time, no one knew when the founding ceremony would be held, so the national flag of our country was never on the agenda.
It was not until June of the same year that the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was convened in Beijing, and the work of determining the national flag of the new China was officially put on the agenda.
In July, the National Flag Group held a meeting, and the final result was a nationwide open call for the national flag, national emblem and national anthem.
After the Xinhua Daily published the news, it quickly spread all over the land of China, and even attracted overseas Chinese, in addition to the special designers, many people wanted to contribute to the Chinese national flag.
Therefore, in their spare time, every interested citizen drew the national flag in their minds, and explained the original intention of the design, and then sent these plans to Beijing.
In the end, the National Flag Preparatory Group received more than 3,000 samples, one of which came from Zeng Liansong, who was a top student at Central University and joined the Chinese Communist Party the year after the July 7 Incident and has been engaged in underground work.
In 1949, he worked as a secretary at the Shanghai Economic News Agency, and when he saw in the newspaper that the country was collecting national flags, he wanted to contribute to it.
After all, he is a non-professional designer, Zeng Liansong needs to design the national flag in more than ten days, which is very difficult, but fortunately, as an old Communist Party member, he can fully grasp the meaning of the national flag.
In Shanghai at that time, there was a very popular singing segment of Shanghai opera - "Looking forward to the stars and the moon, looking forward to the Communist Party of China".
Therefore, Zeng Liansong planned to use the stars as the main body of the national flag, and later he designed the prototype of the five-star red flag.
The largest five-pointed star symbolizes the Communist Party, and the four small stars symbolize the broad masses of the people, representing the working class, the peasant class, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie, which is also the class composition of the Chinese people at that time.
After more than a month of repeated discussions, the five-star red flag designed by Zeng Liansong finally stood out. In the first edition, Zeng Liansong also designed the pattern of a sickle and an axe inside the large five-pointed star.
In the end, Chairman Mao thought that the sickle and axe were the symbols of the Soviet Union, and we were the new China, so we should be different from them, so the symbol of the sickle and axe was canceled, and it became the five-star red flag we see today.
On October 1, 1949, the five-star red flag was raised by Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square, and Zeng Liansong was also invited to the city tower to watch the ceremony.
2. Determination of the national anthem
"Rise up, people who do not want to be slaves" Once the melody of the national anthem sounded, everyone's hearts were full of emotion. This "March of the Volunteers", written by Tian Han and composed by Nie Er, was actually born in 1935.
In that period of national survival, "March of the Volunteers" inspired countless people, in addition to Tian Han's wonderful lyrics, Nie Er's composition made "March of the Volunteers" express a deeper atmosphere.
The sonorous trumpet prelude sets a magnificent tone for the whole song, and the solemn and magnificent melody gives people a sense of unstoppability.
During the Anti-Japanese War, not only the Kuomintang authorities broadcast the "March of the Volunteers", but also the United States, Britain and other countries broadcast the "March of the Volunteers" on their own radio stations.
In 1949, when the national flag and national emblem were collected, the national anthem was actually also collected.
However, due to the tight time, I did not receive a good plan for a while, so I used "March of the Volunteers" as the national anthem for the time being.
However, because the influence of this song and its own meaning are too far-reaching, it is really difficult for a new work to surpass it, and it is of very strong historical significance to use such a song that once inspired all Chinese to resist the war as the national anthem of New China.
As a result, the March of the Volunteers became the official national anthem, and it was not until 2004 that the national anthem was written into the constitution of the republic.
3. Alteration of the national anthem and national flag
In 1966, the mainland entered a special period. During this period, the flag and anthem were also hit.
The first is the national anthem "March of the Volunteers". Because during the Anti-Japanese War, many Kuomintang military schools used it as a military song, which had a great influence within the national army, and was even sung by the Kuomintang;
In addition, Tian Han, the author of "March of the Volunteers" at that time, was implicated.
Many people think that the national anthem should be revised, they think that Tian Han's "March of the Volunteers" does not represent China, there is a song very popular at that time, that is, Dongfang Hong, the lyrics of this song are: Dongfang Hong, the sun rises, China has a Mao Zedong.
Some people believe that Chairman Mao made the Chinese people stand up, so they can use "Dongfang Hong" as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China.
After this matter was reported, Chairman Mao believed that China was the China of all Chinese, not Mao Zedong's China, so how could Dongfang Red be used as the national anthem?
Coincidentally, Zeng Liansong was also implicated in a special period.
After designing the national flag, Zeng Liansong left his original unit and worked as deputy manager of the Shanghai Daily Grocery Company.
He himself is an old Communist Party member, and it stands to reason that he will not be shocked at all, but it is because of his position as deputy manager that he is labeled as taking the bourgeois road.
Some people even pointed out that the five-star red flag he designed has two stars representing the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie, which is an ironclad fact.
These people suggested that two five-star red flags be removed, but after the matter was reported to the central authorities, it was also rejected.
The plan for the national anthem and the national flag was a decision made by the central authorities.
Representing the supreme will of the country, these people's vain attempt to revise the national anthem and national flag is actually an act that shakes the foundation of the country, and the central government's rejection of the move has maintained our cultural position.
Resources:
CNKI "The Motherland in My Heart - The Birth of the National Flag, National Emblem and National Anthem" - Fan Shaoyun and Liu Ying
CNKI's "The Tortuous Course of the National Anthem's Lyrics from Abolishment, Replacement to Restoration" - Lei Shenghong